Pan, the horned – and horny – hairy, half-man, half-goat god of Greek mythology, speaks of such basic instincts and has so many names and attributes that he is probably one of the oldest Greek gods, perhaps even predating Greek religion. how we think about it.
In classical mythology, he is the original bad boy. Watch out for flocks, forests, mountains, and all things wild. He shares this aspect with Apollo. But, also, with Apollo, he shares a taste for chasing and robbing maidens, usually wood nymphs.
Stories about Pan
Two of the most famous stories about him suggest that, like Byron, he was “crazy, bad, and dangerous to know”:
- In the story of the origin of his pans, he fell in love with, or probably simply lusted after, a beautiful wood nymph named Syrinx, the daughter of a river god. She ran away without hearing his pleas. She fled to her sisters for safety and when she arrived they turned her into a reed that made a sad melody when air blew through it. Pan was still in love with her, but couldn’t tell what reed she had become. So he chose several, cut them into pieces and tied them side by side in a set of tubes. Forever, Pan was rarely seen without the saucepan. He named the instrument a syrinx in his honor.
- But if he could be sentimental, his lust could also make him very cruel. In another story, the nymph Echo infuriated him because she despised all men. He sent his followers to tear it to pieces and spread it over the earth. The mother of the earth, Gaia, received her and her voice, repeating the words of others, remains.
On the other hand, he could also be gentle and kind. It is said that he has convinced Psyche to commit suicide because of his frustrated love for the god Eros.
Most common attributes of Pan
In addition to his goat horns and hairy haunches, he usually carries his pan-pipe, in paintings, sculptures and ancient representations, he is often shown playing.
His main strengths, he is lustful and a capable musician, are more or less the same as his main weaknesses: he is lustful and he likes loud music. In fact, he likes loud and chaotic noise in general.
His mischievous side can turn very dark in an instant. It can incite “panic,” meaningless fear or rage, sometimes on the orders of the goddess Rhea. Their presence was said to have caused men to panic as they crossed dark and lonely forests. And he wasn’t averse to tearing people apart at times.
If you were around him, you might notice his slightly musky or goat scent.
The origins of the frying pan
It is often said that Pan is the son of Hermes and Dryope, a tree nymph. In ancient times, it was associated with Arcadia, a beautiful but wild part of Greece. Even today Arcadia, in the center of the Peloponnese, is a rustic and sparsely populated part of the country.
The name Pan is also a Greek prefix meaning “all” and, at one point, Pan may have been a much more powerful and encompassing figure. Less familiar stories grant him powers as a sea god with the epithet Haliplanktos; He is also considered a healer of epidemics through cures revealed in dreams, and an oracle god. These many attributes suggest very ancient Proto-Indo-European origins. Some of them, like his appearance of the god of the sea, even puzzled classical Greek writers, again suggesting that his tradition of origin was so old that it was forgotten by classical times.
Temples of Pan
As a rustic god of wild places, Pan had many shrines, but they were not in buildings. Instead, they were probably in grottos and caves. Some ancient writers have mentioned temples and altars in Arcadia, but these places no longer exist and therefore cannot be verified. There is a tradition of the ruins of a Temple of Pan found near the source of the Neda River at the base of Mount Lykaion, in the Western Peloponnese. This river valley has a fairy tale quality to it and has long been associated with ancient myths and stories.
But the connection to a temple dedicated to Pan is probably more fanciful and romantic than true.
